Saturday, February 24, 2007

Can I kill a cat if it poops in my yard?

My kids like to play and there's a cat that visits every night.By Cary TennisI'm having a problem with a cat. At least I assume it's a cat since I've never actually seen it. The cat uses my yard and garden as its toilet. This, by itself is not a serious matter; I clean detritus out of my yard regularly as a matter of course. The real problem is that my young children, who love to play in the yard and putter in the garden, always run afoul of the cat's mess if I haven't cleaned it up first. So, every morning I must police my yard and garden for signs of the cat's nightly visit and clean up after it. Oftentimes, I must be away from home on business and there is no one to perform this duty. So my kids stay inside or go outside and get fouled. Recently, I've been considering a solution to this problem. A permanent solution. I'm not a cat hater. I've had and enjoyed several cats as pets. I don't wish upon this cat any painful punishment or cruel revenge. I don't know whose cat it is, whether it even has a home and is loved or is left to its own devices. I simply want it to disappear and can certainly arrange it. I was raised in a semi-rural environment where we had livestock, which we even played with and petted, but which also eventually were slaughtered and eaten. Killing animals that we had raised seemed perfectly natural and was the practical conclusion to the endeavor. When our pet dogs or cats were seriously ill, grievously injured or simply became too numerous, we shed our tears and then sent them to their reward without the services of a veterinarian or animal shelter. This solution to my cat problem seems perfectly reasonable to me, akin to the fate dealt to gophers, rats and other living nuisances. On the other hand, I realize a cat's difference; people increasingly put great store in their pets, considering them to be family members in every regard. What I consider to be a reasonable solution will surely be considered an immoral crime by others. MORE